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The Chief Executive Carrie Lam and a group of legal and security officials have just come back from meetings in Beijing to discuss the proposed national security legislation with vice-premier Han Zhen and other officials. Lam said the central authorities intend to “firmly, comprehensively and faithfully” implement “One Country, Two Systems” and “resolutely” safeguard national security. She said that the central government will be listening to opinions from Hong Kong people. That same day, the United Kingdom’s prime minister Boris Johnson pledged that if China proceeds with the national security law, Britain will change immigration rules for some three million British National Overseas passport holders in Hong Kong granting a pathway to citizenship. With us to talk about the proposed law is Elsie Leung, former Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China.

It’s thirty-one years since the June 4th crackdown in Tiananmen Square but at least in Hong Kong, memories remain sharp. The annual vigil in Victoria Park to commemorate the deaths in 1989 is often seen as a barometer of Hong Kong’s freedoms. The future of that vigil is now in question. This year social distancing regulations were given as a reason for the banning the event – but the pending national security legislation may well lead to a longer term ban.

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The Chief Executive Carrie Lam and a group of legal and security officials have just come back from meetings in Beijing to discuss the proposed national security legislation with vice-premier Han Zhen and other officials. Lam said the central authorities intend to “firmly, comprehensively and faithfully” implement “One Country, Two Systems” and “resolutely” safeguard national security. She said that the central government will be listening to opinions from Hong Kong people. That same day, the United Kingdom’s prime minister Boris Johnson pledged that if China proceeds with the national security law, Britain will change immigration rules for some three million British National Overseas passport holders in Hong Kong granting a pathway to citizenship. With us to talk about the proposed law is Elsie Leung, former Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China.

It’s thirty-one years since the June 4th crackdown in Tiananmen Square but at least in Hong Kong, memories remain sharp. The annual vigil in Victoria Park to commemorate the deaths in 1989 is often seen as a barometer of Hong Kong’s freedoms. The future of that vigil is now in question. This year social distancing regulations were given as a reason for the banning the event – but the pending national security legislation may well lead to a longer term ban.

Hong Kong now has a new national security law crafted and implemented in Beijing without the involvement of either the SAR’s government or legislature. Enacted on Thursday by the National People’s Congress without debate, it was the result of years of frustration in Beijing over the failure of Hong Kong itself to introduce a law on these lines. The unprecedented move led to an outpouring of local and international criticism accompanied by dire warnings that this legislation effectively puts an end to the notion of “One Country, Two Systems”. On Wednesday, a day before the National People’s Congress put the draft resolution to a vote, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that Hong Kong no longer has autonomy from China. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the HKSAR replied that it is “utterly imperious, unreasonable and shameless” for American politicians to obstruct the legislation. Chief Executive Carrie Lam labelled foreign criticism as “double standards and hypocrisy”.

With us to talk about the Hong Kong national security law is non-official member of the Executive Council, Ronny Tong. We also spoke to the last governor Chris Patten from London.

After much delay the Independent Police Complaints Council released its report on the police handling of the anti-extradition bill protest. The government has resisted widespread public demands for an independent inquiry and insisted that this report would provide a definitive account of what happened. There was scepticism before the report was released and its publication has done more or less nothing to make the controversy go away. With us to talk about the Independent Police Complaints Council’s latest report is Clement Chan, the Chairman of the Council’s publicity and survey committee.

Politician and founder of the Liberal Party Allen Lee passed away on 15th May. He played a leading role in Hong Kong’s politics for some 30 years decades, not least during the Sino-British negotiations and, later, in the drafting of the Basic Law.

Many families were out last Sunday celebrating Mother’s Day. In some cases, it was their first chance to get together after the partial relaxation of social distancing rules.
Many restaurants and shopping malls were relieved to see customers coming back. Young people were also back in several shopping malls for “singalong” protests.
They – and many families just out for the day - were met by riot police. Protests and confrontations continued through the night in the streets of Mong Kok, where journalists faced a new level of hostility from the police. With us to talk about the pressure on press freedom in Hong Kong are, Cédric Alviani the East Asia Bureau Head of Reporters Without Borders, who is speaking to us from Taiwan in the studio we have Chris Yeung, Chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association

Last week, we reported the problems relatives face looking after family members during the coronavirus outbreak. However, not all of those with physical disabilities or other impairments have family members to care for them. They rely heavily on government or subvented organisations to provide assistance on a daily basis. However many of those welfare services have been cut posing even greater difficulties during the pandemic.

On 5th May, the government is relaxing some rules covering gatherings in public places and is permitting the re-opening of some premises under strict conditions. The pandemic effects everybody but, as ever, it has delivered the heaviest blows to the most vulnerable members of society. Since February, many social welfare services provided by the government and subvented organisations have had their activities curtailed or stopped outright. That’s led to hard times for many family caregivers, who are looking after relatives with special needs.

On Tuesday this week, Kung Kao Po, the newspaper published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, announced the news of the death on 24th April, of Leo Goodstadt. Leo was a devout Catholic, an economist, journalist and writer. He was also the first head of the Central Policy Unit founded in 1989 to provide strategic advice to the government. Over the years The Pulse spoke to Leo Goodstadt several times. One of his major concerns was the plight of Hong Kong’s neediest groups.

May 1st is Labour Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, and a public holiday in many countries. Here in Hong Kong it’s long been marked by an annual march. Not this year. The police have banned demonstrations saying due to the pandemic they would be a serious threat to public health. They have also deployed 3,000 anti-riot officers to crack down on unauthorised gatherings. Although a ban on gatherings of more than four people in public remains in force, anti-government protests have returned over the past week. Hundreds gathered in shopping malls in Taikoo Shing, Central and Tin Shui Wai to take part in “singalong” protests. Riot police have dispersed crowds, issued verbal warnings and fined some of those present. Meanwhile with Hong Kong this week recording no new coronavirus cases for several days in a row, many people are asking when restrictions are likely to be eased.

Flights out of India and Pakistan have been grounded since late March due to the coronavirus. The Hong Kong Immigration Department says an estimated 2,000 Hong Kong people remain in Pakistan and another 3,200 in India. A chartered flight brought 319 Hong Kong residents back from Pakistan yesterday. They were then sent to a quarantine centre in Fo Tan’s Chun Yeung Estate.
Hong Kong’s quarantine measures for new arrivals have largely been successful, but changes to the arrangements over the past two months, have left some feeling confused and mistrustful.

Does Hong Kong still enjoy a “high degree of autonomy”? That question has come into the spotlight again as the result of recent actions by both the Central Government Liaison Office and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. On Friday 17th April, the Liaison Office in Hong Kong declared that as it and the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing are authorized to represent the central government in handling Hong Kong affairs, they have the power to supervise matters that affect the overall interests of the SAR. This apparently means that neither of these bodies are subject to the restrictions on activities in Hong Kong that apply to other Central Government departments. With me to talk about this issue, and the Hong Kong government’s response to it, are former Chief Secretary Anson Chan, Honorary Chair of the Liberal Party James Tien, and commentator Chip Tsao. I should add that we also invited several pro-government figures, including Maria Tam, Rita Fan, Ronny Tong and Albert Chen to take part. They decided not to join us.

What we know is that coronavirus is deadly and we also know that the potential for fatalities is greatly affected by social and political action or, maybe, inaction.
Some have predicted that once the lockdowns are over, the global economy may be in worse shape than during the Great Depression that stretched from the late 1920s to the outbreak of World War II. There are also fears that authoritarian governments are using the pretext of fighting the pandemic to tighten repressive controls. Here in Hong Kong the social unrest that began last year has quietened down due to fears of the virus. But political pressure simmering in the background has not gone away. Indeed recent attacks on both the legislature and the judiciary suggest that a new round in the political battle is about to begin.

Although the Hong Kong government was initially criticised for its reluctance to close its borders, particularly with mainland China, the SAR has become one of the world’s relative success stories in terms of limiting the spread of the pandemic and low level of fatalities. That brings no guarantees for the future, and fears of a possible second wave remain. That’s why Hong Kong is operating one of the world’s most stringent and effective quarantine systems for arrivals from abroad.

On Wednesday, as the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong approached a thousand, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced a second round of relief packages, worth HK$137.5 billion, to save jobs and businesses. The first relief package, the HK$30 billion Anti-epidemic Fund, launched in February, was criticised for its bureaucratic nature and showing too little understanding of people’s real problems.

The new measures, announced this week include subsidising half the salary of individual workers, up to a maximum of HK$9,000, for six months. That means an estimated 1.5 million workers will continue to be paid during this tough time but it remains unclear whether the widespread practise of unpaid leave will be allowed. The government also says it will create 30,000 jobs in the coming two years. Other moves include providing HK$21 billion to help 16 business sectors that weren’t covered previously, lowering MTR fares, introducing concessions on rents, and raising loans for SMEs. Carrie Lam and her officials have also agreed to take a 10% pay cut for the coming year.
With me to talk about these new measures are Liberal Party leader Felix Chung, and Kenneth Leung, the Vice-Chairman of The Professional Commons.

As we record this show there are over a million confirmed Covid-19 cases and more than 50,000 deaths attributed to the disease worldwide. But the virus itself isn’t the only concern. Another is the draconian powers many governments are giving themselves in the name of fighting the pandemic. On Monday, Hungary’s parliament passed an “anti-coronavirus defence law” that gives Prime Minister Viktor Orban the power to rule by decree indefinitely. Only he can declare the emergency to be over, and until he does so, there will be no elections. The law criminalises any action the government considers a hindrance to its anti-virus efforts and introduces jail terms of up to five years for anyone spreading “falsehoods” about the virus. European Commission Chief, Ursula von der Leyen warned on Tuesday that, “Any emergency measures must be limited to what is necessary and strictly proportionate. They must not last indefinitely.” Hungary responded by saying that criticisms of its actions are part of a “political witch hunt” against the country. Viktor Orban does not believe in liberal democracy preferring what he calls, “illiberal democracy”. His critics say this refers to a semi-authoritarian state.
In mid-January, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó visited Hong Kong. We spoke to him.